In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

Q: BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- An Australian author was sentenced Monday to three years in prison in Thailand after falling foul of a Thai law that makes it a crime to insult the country's royal family. Harry Nicolaides behind the bars of a Thai holding cell on Monday. Harry Nicolaides was arrested last August over a 2005 book called "Verisimilitude," which includes a paragraph about the king and crown prince that the authorities deemed a violation of the Lese Majeste law. Nicolaides, 41, was bombarded with questions from foreign journalists as he arrived at the court Monday, wearing shackles as he stepped from a prison bus. In tears, he said he would plead guilty. "Truth is stranger than fiction," he said. "It's been an ordeal for months. It feels like a bad dream."  Watch shackled Nicolaides at court » . The Thai Criminal Court originally sentenced Nicolaides to six years in jail but cut the punishment in half because of the guilty plea. He listened calmly as the verdict was translated to him. After hearing his verdict Nicolaides said: "I wish my family the best."  Watch Nicolaides' brother's reaction » . One of his lawyers said no decision had been made about whether to appeal or seek a royal pardon. King Bhumibol Adulydej has pardoned foreigners in other similar cases in the past. CNN has chosen not to repeat the allegations made by Nicolaides because it could result in CNN staff being prosecuted in Thailand. Nicolaides had been living in Thailand since 2003, lecturing at two universities about tourism. He was about to leave Thailand when he was arrested on August 31 last year. It is not clear why the authorities waited three years after the publication of his book to bring charges against him. "I think there are individuals who have exploited an obscure law for their own self-interest," he said. Only 50 copies of the book were published, and only seven were sold. The law Nicolaides was convicted of breaking is section 112, known as the Lese Majeste law. It says: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Thailand's king is highly revered in this Buddhist nation, but even he has said in the past that he can be criticized. Thailand's new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, also told CNN he is concerned about the misuse of the Lese Majeste law. "There are cases in the past where this law has been abused for political purposes, and I agree this has to stop," he said. Despite the rhetoric there's little sign the prime minister will change the law. Other cases are pending against both foreigners and Thais. CNN's Dan Rivers and Kocha Olarn in Bangkok contributed to this report .

A: Australian author jailed for insulting Thai king in a book .
Harry Nicolaides jailed for three years; cut from six for his guilty plea .
He was arrested last year, three years after the book was first published .
Defense lawyers deciding whether to appeal or ask for a royal pardon .
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Q: (CNN) -- Two health care workers went to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms after coming into contact with a patient confirmed to have Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, officials said Tuesday. The Florida patient represents the second confirmed case of MERS brought into the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. MERS is a mysterious virus that can be fatal, and was first found in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012. One health care worker in Orlando began showing symptoms 72 hours after exposure to the MERS patient but did not meet criteria for admission and was sent home, said Dr. Antonio Crespo, an infectious disease specialist at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, where the MERS patient is being treated. The health care worker will be monitored and seems to be improving, Crespo said. The other one, whose symptoms began 24 hours after exposure, was admitted to the same hospital, officials said Tuesday at a press conference. "We're just waiting for the results from the testing that was done yesterday to decide about discharge," Crespo said. At-risk workers at home . The two health care workers are among 20 in the Orlando area who may have been exposed to the MERS patient, and they are being tested for the virus, officials said. They were all notified and told to stay home and not work for 14 days, Crespo said. They also should monitor their temperatures and check for possible symptoms such as a cough, sore throat and fever. Five health team members who may be at risk have been identified at Orlando Regional Medical Center and 15 at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, Crespo said. They were all evaluated for signs and symptoms that would be consistent for MERS. Samples were sent to the state lab for testing, said Dr. Ken Michaels, medical director for occupational health at Orlando Health. "I'm glad to report that I've spoken to most of these team members today. They all report that they're doing great," Michaels said. On the 14th day, everyone involved will be brought back for further testing. Once medically cleared, they can return to work, officials said. Initial testing should be back within the next day or two, Michaels said. MERS: 5 things to know . Two confirmed U.S. cases . The confirmed MERS patient visited Orlando Regional Medical Center on May 5, accompanying another person who was having a medical procedure, officials said. "I think the risk is negligible to those in the waiting room or the radiology area at (Orlando Regional Medical Center)," said Dr. Kevin Sherin of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County. The MERS patient was admitted to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital on May 9. "Before the patient came to the hospital, he was not having a cough," Crespo said. "He was not having respiratory symptoms. So we believe that that makes less risk of transmission to other potential contacts." Officials from the CDC and the Florida Department of Health are investigating the MERS case. During a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the MERS situation in the United States and that the CDC is taking the lead. The first U.S. case was reported this month in Indiana. That patient was released from a hospital Friday into home isolation, according to state health officials. The Indiana patient was an American health care provider who had been working in Saudi Arabia and was on a planned visit to Indiana to see his family. The Florida patient is also a health care provider who lives and works in Saudi Arabia, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general with the U.S. Public Health Service and director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. She said that he is not a U.S. citizen and that the Florida case is not linked to the Indiana one. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will post CDC advisories at more than 20 U.S. airports to alert travelers about the virus. Although there are no recommendations to change travel plans, the signs will advise travelers to the Arabian Peninsula to avoid contact with sick people and wash their hands often. They should contact a doctor if they develop symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath and coughing, the CDC said. "We think it's really critical to avoid overreacting in the community but also avoid under-reacting in the health care environment," Schuchat told CNN. "The reason for the signage is so that we can promptly identify potential cases so that they can be separated from other people." Can SARS lessons prevent a MERS virus outbreak? What is MERS? As of Friday, there have been 538 cases of MERS in 17 countries, including 145 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, Schuchat said. The virus is also known as MERS-CoV since it is a coronavirus, the same group of viruses as the common cold. It attacks the respiratory system, according to the CDC. Symptoms can lead to pneumonia or kidney failure. There is no vaccine or special treatment for MERS. Doctors said they believe the Indiana patient's quick diagnosis and care dramatically increased his chances for getting better. The "risk to the general public remains very low," Schuchat said. In some countries, the virus has spread from person to person, but only in close contact, such as a person who was caring for an ill person. "This virus has not shown the ability to spread easily from person to person in community settings," she said. Out of "an abundance of caution," the CDC has been contacting people who were passengers on the same flights as the two patients with confirmed MERS, Schuchat said. No cases of MERS have been diagnosed as a result of transmission on a plane, the CDC's Dr. Marty Cetron said. The 44-year-old Florida patient traveled on May 1 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to London, then from London to Boston, Boston to Atlanta, and finally Atlanta to Orlando. The man began feeling unwell on the flight from Jeddah, with symptoms including "fever, chills and a slight cough," Schuchat said. Family members of the patient have been tested as well, Crespo said. "The patient has been doing very well," Crespo said. The patient had a low-grade fever of 100.2 on Monday night but has a minimal cough, and he is "in great spirits." MERS mystery: Virus found in camels . CNN's Miriam Falco, Elizabeth Cohen, Jen Christensen, and Athena Jones contributed to this report.

A: NEW: TSA will put up advisories about MERS in airports .
Two cases have been confirmed in the U.S.
At least 20 health care workers told to not come to work .
They can return to work after 14 days if medically cleared .
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Q: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- States appear to be taking more action to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental health problems in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, new figures show. Mental health problems would prohibit potential buyers from purchasing a gun. Submissions of mentally ill patients' records to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System for gun buyers have more than doubled since the massacre in April, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Currently, states are not required to send reports of mental health problems, which would prohibit buyers from purchasing a gun. But after the shootings -- when a student with a history of mental health problems killed 32 people before taking his own life -- the number of submissions to the database grew from 174,863 during the first half of the year to 393,957 from July to November. The number of states submitting the information also grew, from 23 before the Virginia Tech tragedy to 32 after it. The majority of the new records came from California authorities, who submitted more than 200,000 entries, the Justice Department said. Ohio boosted the amount of entries from three in March of this year to 7,845 in November. "Instant background checks are essential to keeping guns out of the wrong hands, while still protecting the privacy of our citizens," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said to the National Association of Attorneys General. "But as we learned in the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the checks must be accurate and complete to be effective." Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho was judged a danger to himself and ordered to get outpatient mental health treatment in 2005, but there was no indication he followed up. Virginia did not report his name to the FBI system because he hadn't been committed to a mental health facility. Cho bought one of the guns he used in the massacre online from an out-of-state dealer, picking it up from a Blacksburg, Virginia, pawn shop after background checks were complete. He bought his other pistol from a Roanoke gun dealer a month before the shooting. Officials say making sure information -- such as mental health records -- that would keep a person from buying a gun is available at a national level ensures that the individual doesn't go across state lines to try to make a purchase. Background checks, however, aren't necessary for firearms purchases made at gun shows or from a private seller, which, according to estimates, account for about half of the guns sold in the United States each year. E-mail to a friend .

A:
Number of records given to the FBI more than doubles since Virginia Tech massacre .
The number of states submitting the information also grows .
Attorney General Mukasey: Checks must be accurate and complete to be effective .
The majority of the new records come from California .
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